I’m not advertising oily fish, I promise. Sardines is a game!
It takes almost no preparation to play Sardines… just some friends (the more the better!) and a place you’d be able to play Hide & Seek in. In fact, let’s talk about Hide & Seek for a moment. There are many variations, but the basic idea is that most of the group runs off and finds places to hide, while one or two stay behind and count to a predetermined number before setting off to search for everyone else. Once they’ve found everyone, the round is over.
Sardines is a lot like that, but in reverse. One person goes and hides, and once they’ve had some time to find a good spot, everyone else goes looking for them. You don’t want to search in a pack, however, because once you find the person, you hide with them, until the last person finds the whole group. Depending on where you’re hiding, this can lead to being packed in pretty tightly (like sardines) especially if your spot is a closet or something otherwise unsuited for the number of people.
It’s fun and easy to teach, with plenty of hushed giggling to go around!
